Source · Select Committees · Environmental Audit Committee
Recommendation 19
19
Accepted
Reducing non-CO2 aviation effects like contrails crucial for achieving net zero
Conclusion
Whilst a reduction in aviation emissions is necessary to deliver a net zero aviation sector, an important contribution to the UK’s efforts is the reduction of non-CO2 effects, such as contrails. (Conclusion, Paragraph 81)
Government Response Summary
The government acknowledges the importance of addressing non-CO2 aviation impacts like contrails, highlighting existing initiatives such as the £29 million Non-CO2 Research and Development Programme and the Contrails Impact Mitigation Task and Finish Group.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
The Government recognises that aviation has both CO2 emissions and non-CO2 climate impacts that need to be addressed. However, there is significant uncertainty about the interaction of non-CO2 effects with the atmosphere and therefore the nature and magnitude of their impact on the climate. The Government’s focus to date has therefore been on better understanding these impacts and on identifying and developing potential mitigation options. In 2023, a cross-government Non-CO2 Research and Development Programme was launched, worth up to £29 million over a four-year period. To date, the Programme has awarded funding to 13 projects for academic and industry-led research worth nearly £20 million, some of which are investigating the climate impact of contrails and contrail modelling technology. The Government plans to fund further projects over the Programme’s lifespan. In addition to this, under the Jet Zero Taskforce, the DfT launched a Contrails Impact Mitigation Task and Finish Group to assess the feasibility of contrail avoidance measures as a potential mitigation option for addressing aviation’s non-CO2 impacts, as well as to better understand trade-offs with potential additional CO2 emissions. The findings will be published in due course and will be used to inform future policy development and research. There is currently no agreed consensus on what metric or time horizon should be used to measure aviation’s non-CO2 impacts, and how their global warming effects compare to CO2. The Non-CO2 Research and Development Programme is funding a project on metrics, and its findings will help inform decisions on how Government and the sector should account for, and assess, aviation’s overall climate impact.